1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a system and method for monitoring BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) messages of computers, and more particularly to a system and method for monitoring BIOS messages of remote computers by a local server.
2. Prior Art of the Invention
In a typical computer system, a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) performs the whole initialization and test of the system when the system is turned on. When the computer is powered on, the BIOS tests the components of the computer, including the CPU (Central Processing Unit), main memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), main-board, CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) memory, serial interface, parallel interface, floppy disk, hard disk, keyboard, mouse, and so on. This test is usually referred to as a POST (Power On Self Test). At the time of operation of a POST, the BIOS outputs values from each step of the POST to certain input/output addresses. An input/output address is usually referred to as an I/O port. For an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus, the I/O address is 0×80, and the range of the 0×80 port ID is from 0 to 255. The 0×80 port is hereinafter referred to as an I/O80 port. When the POST is successfully completed, the system loads an OS (Operating System) in a designated disk.
The values output by the BIOS are referred to as BIOS messages. The BIOS messages include digital codes defined by the computer manufacturer of characters of a computer, and descriptions of the characters of the computer. When the computer is powered on, the BIOS messages are displayed in the computer monitor during the POST for the computer user to monitor the BIOS messages.
Some users need to monitor BIOS messages of a remote computer when the remote computer is powered on at the same time as the user's local computer. Furthermore, in many large businesses, a user needs to monitor the BIOS messages of a plurality of remote computers through a local server.
In order to meet these needs, recent patents in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,240 entitled “Method for monitoring system boot by searching a temporary buffer for BIOS messages” and issued on Sep. 30, 2003. The patent discloses a method for monitoring BIOS messages, comprising: reproducing the data of a screen buffer of a video RAM (random-access memory) area into a temporary buffer in a program; searching for specific BIOS messages in the temporary buffer reproduced from the screen buffer; and reporting the search result to a remote system manager.
However, before the BIOS messages are transmitted to the remote system manager, the BIOS messages must be stored in the system buffer. This consumes valuable system memory resources, and makes the method unduly complicated. Therefore, a more effective and convenient system and method for monitoring BIOS messages of remote computers by a local server is desired.